


Little Miss Perfect

by Onhiro



Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: Diana has some issues she's working through, F/F, Hannah and Barbara are actually really supportive friends in this, Minor Hannah England/Amanda O'Neill, Wholesome, animatic by Jackie Que-nothanks, based off Little Miss Perfect, content warning: underage drinking, i do not condone underage drinking, wait until you're old enough kiddos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-13 21:28:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28660242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Onhiro/pseuds/Onhiro
Summary: Diana Cavendish is the person that everyone at high school unanimously recognizes as Little Miss Perfect...the students, the teachers, the staff, they all recognize her hard work that she put in to get where she was. What might have once been a snide title is now uttered with respect...but that respect holds them all at arm's length. As a result, no one save those few who are closest to her see what the cost of that perfection is, at the war that raged in her heart.After all, she wanted something that Little Miss Perfect could never dare have, and oh, if that didn't crush her soul with every passing day!
Relationships: Diana Cavendish/Atsuko "Akko" Kagari
Comments: 19
Kudos: 110





	Little Miss Perfect

**Author's Note:**

> Content Warning: Underage Drinking. I do not condone underage drinking, and you should wait until you are of legal age in accordance with your local laws before you consume alcohol. However, I also recognize that high schoolers do drink, and it's in the animatic and referenced in the song.
> 
> Jackie Que-nothanks' animatic found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-FfoxYom1U

Little Miss Perfect

It was early in the morning, far earlier than you’d expect a high school student to be awake, with the coming dawn nothing more than a hint of lightness on the eastern horizon. But for all of how early in the morning it was, a student was awake in her mansion that sat on the heights looking down on Blytonbury where all the wealthiest families lived. She was in the bathroom attached to her bedroom, humming to herself as she used a hair iron to straighten her hair. Pulling the last strands of her hair through her iron, she set it down and smiled at the girl in the mirror.

Perfect straight hair for the perfect straight A student.

But then her hair’s natural body rebelled against the fruit of her labor, poofing back out into the wavy volume that she had been trying to straighten out, and she sighed. Ah, well, if her hair decided it didn’t want to cooperate with the image that she had oh-so-carefully been constructing since she hit middle school, then what was she to do about it? Giving the hair iron an annoyed glance, she returned to her bedroom, moving over to the neatly organized vanity where every last thing was in its place, just like everything else in her room, and she glanced at the sheaf of papers that she had made sure was perfectly stacked before she had stapled it. Every last paper there had an A or an A+ on it, the fruit of countless hours of studying there as a reminder that she, Diana Cavendish, did not get anything less than an A. So far as she was concerned, an A- might as well be an F, and she was better than that.

She _had_ to be better than that.

After all, she was straight forward and had a straight past, and she did _not_ cut corners.

She glanced at the clock on the wall and then out the window, where the horizon had lightened with the sun’s approach. Part of not cutting corners was making a point to being on time, and that meant leaving now. She was just glad that she was a senior now and could drive herself, rather than depending on a chauffeur to drive her to school. She had never been comfortable with flaunting her family’s wealth, but had considered arriving to school on time as being more important than waiting for a bus. Thankfully for her, what she considered ‘on time’ was vastly different than what her peers considered the same, and even in previous grades she arrived well before any other students did and her extra-curricular activities kept her at school late enough that most students never set eyes on her driver. They just knew that Diana Cavendish, head of the student council and class Valedictorian, spent more time at school than most of the faculty did.

Which was only what was expected of little Miss Perfect.

She left her room, her backpack’s straps slung over her shoulder, and she headed down to the dining room where Anna was waiting. Diana’s tea and light breakfast were waiting for her, the day’s lunch already packed in her insulated lunchbox that would have looked at home in a law firm’s breakroom. She smiled her thanks at Anna as she sat down at the table, truly thankful for the person who was the closest thing that she had for a mother. She began to eat even as she kept an eye on the clock, and the meal was delicious, as always. Diana liked to think that their chef put extra effort into her food and that it tasted better than what he made for Aunt Daryl and Diana’s cousins in return for her treating him like a human being rather than a cog in the machine that Aunt Daryl and her daughters thought of only as ‘the Help.’ That thought was a momentary note to her breakfast, and she paused as she thought about her sole remaining family and their actions…actions that did _not_ reflect the Cavendish creed of kindness.

But she forced the thought out of mind, finishing her food. “Thank you, Anna, I much appreciate it,” she said with a warm smile.

“Of course, Diana,” Anna replied with just as much warmth. “Shall it be another late day at school for you?” she asked.

Diana nodded as she gathered up her lunchbox and backpack and stood, already heading for the door. “Unfortunately yes, and not because of studying. Barbara is throwing a house party and she insisted I come.”

Anna hummed thoughtfully as she followed after Diana. “You know, it’s perfectly normal for a girl your age to go to those parties and actually relax and have fun with your peers, especially with how responsible you are,” she gently pointed out.

Diana shot a sad, tired smile over her shoulder. “Yes, but that would entail actually enjoying attending such events. You know I only go to them because I must.”

Anna stared at her for a moment before she sighed. “Yes, my lady, that is true.”

Diana paused where she stood, her hand on the doorknob. Anna only called her ‘my lady’ when she didn’t agree with Diana. But a glance at the designer watch on her wrist showed that she didn’t have enough time to stay and address the matter with Anna…she needed to leave now. “If you wouldn’t mind making sure that Henry sets aside some leftovers for when I get home tonight?”

“Yes, of course, Diana. Have a good day at school.”

Diana gave one final smile over her shoulder as she stepped through the door. “I’m the queen bee at school, they’re _all_ good days. They have to be.” Then she was closing the door behind her and then heading to the expansive garage next to the main house, and she walked past the many luxury and sports cars that they owned before she reached the small used sedan at the very end. Despite the fact that she could have bought ten more of them before matching the price of the next cheapest car in the garage, she absolutely loved her little car. It was hers and hers alone, and she had purchased it with her own money. It suited her needs perfectly, and she didn’t feel like she was flaunting her wealth when she drove to school with it. Gently placing her backpack and lunchbox in the backseat, she got in the car, and began the commute to school.

She had left at just the right time, the morning traffic still light, and it took her the usual thirty minutes to reach the school, the parking lot still nearly deserted. Diana parked in the spot that might as well have been labeled with her name, given how she always parked there and no one else got to school early enough to take it from her. She gathered up her things, locked up her car, and made her way to the stately building, where the head janitor was waiting for her at the door. He was shaking his head with an amused grin as he opened it for her. “I was telling one of the new hires that we can practically set our watches to when you arrive in the morning, and this morning you certainly didn’t disappoint. 5:50 on the dot!”

“Well, you know what they say about punctuality, Mr. Marvin,” she replied as she stepped through the door.

“And you take that to an extreme. Why, I wish my own son had your sense of timeliness!”

Diana chuckled politely at his joke before excusing herself, heading first to her locker to drop off her backpack and her lunchbox and to get her notebooks and textbooks she’d need for her first classes before she was heading to the Student Council room.

Yes, Diana Cavendish made it a point to be on time.

She was the first in the room, and she sat at the table, back straight, hands clasped on the table before her, and a happy smile on her face as she waited for the others to arrive even as the sun finally crested the horizon, its golden rays streaming through the window that looked out upon the school grounds.

She did not do her homework, as she was more than a week ahead of everyone else. She did not study, as she had all but memorized her textbooks, and not just in the classes she was taking, but also in other classes that she couldn’t attend because she literally couldn’t fit them into her schedule.

So she simply sat, pleasant smile on her face, and waited. Let the first person through the door see the Student Council President waiting for them, ready to start another wonderful day of learning.

Some twenty minutes later, the doorknob to the room rattled before the door open, and the Student Council Advisor, Ms. Finnelan, stepped through the doorway, only to pause with a sigh as her steel blue eyes caught sight of Diana. “Miss Cavendish, I truly appreciate your eagerness to be here early enough to be ready for the morning meeting, but I have to tell you once more that you don’t _have_ to be here before 6:30.”

“I consider it an obligation and my duty to be here before everyone else, Miss Finnelan,” she replied pleasantly.

Ms. Finnelan grimaced slightly before she walked over to her desk, setting down her things. “Well, we appreciate it. You are perhaps the most dedicated President the Student Council has ever seen. We are definitely going to miss you after you graduate.”

“Thank you for the compliment, Miss Finnelan.”

The teacher hummed absently as she sorted the papers on her desk. “And so very formal, as well…” she muttered under her breath.

But then Diana’s two closest friends came laughing through the door, and Hannah took the Secretary’s seat to Diana’s left as Barbara sat down in the Treasurer’s spot to Diana’s right. “Good morning, Diana!” they both chimed, and Diana smiled at them even as her heart gave a pang that she resolutely tried to ignore. Though they were her closest friends, they didn’t look at her the way they looked at each other. No, they looked at her with adulation in their eyes, like she hung the sun and the moon and all the stars in the sky, and for a brief moment, a terrible loneliness seized her. Perhaps it was more accurate to say that they were the closest things to friends that she had…

She forced away that sense of loneliness even as she arranged the morning meeting’s schedule on the table in front of her. “Good morning, girls,” she warmly replied. “Hopefully your evenings went well.”

Barbara beamed at that. “Yeah, got the final stuff ready for the party tonight,” she said brightly before there was a firmly cleared throat from where Ms. Finnelan was sitting, though she didn’t look up from the papers that she seemed to be grading. Barbara rolled her eyes, pitching her voice louder even as she, too, didn’t look over at Ms. Finnelan. “A party where there will be no alcohol because we are responsible high schoolers!”

“Anyway,” Diana cut in, her voice firm, “shall we get on with the morning meeting?” The other two nodded, and Diana paused, finger tapping on the desk. “Before we get started, how’s the field hockey team doing, Hannah?” she asked, voice kept carefully light as she stared down at the schedule, trying not to blush as she missed the knowing glance that Hannah and Barbara shot each other.

“We’re doing really good, Diana,” Hannah said. “Though I’m sure you already knew that.”

“Yeah, you keep very careful track of _all_ the sports teams,” Barbara pointed out. There was a pause and an uneasy flutter ran through Diana’s gut. If they asked why she was asking in particular…

Then Hannah spoke up, voice bright and determined. “But yeah, it’s great! You were at the last game to support us, right? Like, I’m proud of what I do as a defender, but Amanda and Akko on offense are _unstoppable_. Right, Barb?”

“Yeah, they’re pretty amazing, huh?”

A small, soft smile touched Diana’s lips as she remembered some of the plays that the two of them had pulled off. “Yeah, she really is,” she murmured softly before blinking, realizing what she just said. Clearing her throat and trying desperately to will the blush off of her face as she pulled the schedule closer in front of her, pointedly ignoring how the other two were looking at her while she thanked God that she hadn’t spoken loud enough for Ms. Finnelan to hear. “Very well, let’s begin. The first item on the schedule is…”

xxxXXXxxx

The rest of the day passed like all the ones before it, with Diana attending classes and taking impeccable notes and answering the teacher’s questions with one hundred percent accuracy. She even had to correct poor Mrs. Badcock when she accidentally started lecturing information from previous textbook editions, even as some of the members of the football snickered behind her. So utterly juvenile of them to laugh at Mrs. Badcock, who was unfortunately one of the most mocked of the teachers, due to her last name and her habit to teach material that was outdated. Sometimes Diana couldn’t stand some of her peers, especially the boys. Honestly, they’d laugh the most ridiculous things…Badcock, Gaylord, anything of the like. It was exhausting. But she was the Student Council President, it was up to her to be the example to the other students, even if they didn’t take full advantage of her help. Still, though…she’d have to talk to Principle Holbrooke about Mrs. Badcock. It seemed like her gaffes were coming more frequently.

Thankfully, that seemed to be the biggest issue during the school day, and before long school let out. Diana took care of some final tasks before she left, driving to Barbara’s house, which was a few streets down from her house. Diana sat in her car for a long moment, watching as other students poured into Barbara’s house. It took her a considerable amount of time to work up the resolve to get out of her car so that she could join the party, and if she wasn’t _little miss perfect_ she would have simply gone home. But she was Diana Cavendish, she was expected to go to these parties, especially if they were being thrown by her friends. Everyone would notice if she didn’t show up, and her absence would hurt Barbara’s feelings, something Diana couldn’t abide. So even though she’d much rather be at home right now, she’d grit her teeth and bear it, if only so that Barbara could be happy.

The moment she stepped into the door, it was clear that there was, in fact, alcohol present. In fact, it took Barbara all of noticing Diana walking through the door for her to excitedly call out Diana’s name, her cheeks rosy as she hurried over as she pressed a red solo cup filled with some sort of punch that smelled heavily of spirits. Before Diana could even so much as offer any sort of protest, Barbara was already turned to other party-goers, ever the gracious host as she began speaking with the others. Diana sighed, feeling rather like an island in a sea of drunken revelry, and she glanced around at the others having fun around her, absently scanning for a familiar half ponytail and side swept bangs or sparkling crimson eyes. Realizing just who she was hoping to see, she shook herself. It’s not likely that Akko would be at one of Barbara’s parties, and besides, it wasn’t wise for Diana to _want_ to see her…

With that thought she sighed and continued to listlessly glance around the crowded house. She spotted Hannah walking with Amanda O’Neill, her friend practically hanging off of the taller red-head’s arm, both of them holding identical cups to the one Diana, and for a moment envy flared. What she wouldn’t do to have what the two of them had, even if their relationship was as fiery as a volcano, with epic fights and dramatic make ups, but…oh, it felt so _authentic_ and _real_ , something that Diana hadn’t known since…

She sighed again, looking down at her cup before grimacing. What she wouldn’t give to be willing to indulge, to black out, to let it all go, but she was Student Council President and the most responsible student at school. She couldn’t. After all, she didn’t black out at parties. She made her way to the kitchen, pouring her untouched drink into the sink before she rinsed the cup a couple times and filled it with water from the fridge, heading back out into the party, steeling herself for the experience.

After all, her only option was to wait just long enough so that she wasn’t committing a social faux-pas when she found Barbara and told her that she had a headache and she was going home. Barbara gave her a big hug, the smell of the punch heavy on her breath, and she thanked Diana for coming over and wasn’t this fun? Diana pulled back, giving a smile that Barbara was too drunk to notice how forced it was even as Diana ignored how Barbara’s words were slightly slurred. “Yes,” she reassured Barbara, “this was fun. Now, don’t stay up too late just because it’s Friday.”

Barbara laughed, eyes bright and slightly unfocused as she pat Diana’s arm. “Yes, _mom_ ,” she teased before her attention was pulled away, and Diana practically fled, smile frozen on her face even as she tried to hold it all together. God, how weak was she that she almost lost it just because of a little tease like that? She quickly got to her car and drove back home, and couldn’t deny that she was relieved when no one came to greet her. She went straight to her room, forgetting about the leftovers that she had asked Henry to make that morning in her desperation to just…just…

She wasn’t even sure what, and when she reached her room, she remained standing, back resting against the door for a long moment. Then she sighed heavily, moving over to where her headphones were, and soon she was listening to Paul McCartney, letting the music wash away the stressors of the day. Everything seemed like it was going to be okay, when she heard the knocks at her door. For a moment she froze, pulling the headphones off, staring at the door in dread. If it was Aunt Daryl, she wasn’t sure what she’d do…another lecture or tirade was the very last thing she wanted to deal with. “Yes?” she called out, worry gnawing at her gut.

It was Anna who answered her, and Diana sighed with relief at the older woman’s voice. “Diana, I noticed you were home. Do you want me to bring you dinner?”

“Hm? Oh, no, thank you,” Diana replied almost absently, only for there to be a pause.

“…may I come in?”

Diana blinked at that, surprised. Anna respected the privacy of her room, so for her to ask to come in, she must have something to talk about. “Yes, please, come on in.”

Anna opened the door, slipping into the room before softly closing the door behind her, and for a moment she stood there, watching Diana silently before she spoke. “Diana, dear, how are you doing?”

Oh, how to answer _that_ question! “Well…” she started before the word died in a whimpering groan, her face falling, and Anna gave her a sympathetic look.

“Diana, I’ve been getting concerned for you. You’ve been pushing yourself very hard, and you didn’t stay at Miss Parker’s party for very long tonight.”

She shrugged. “I wasn’t having all that much fun, that’s all.”

Anna hesitated. “Pardon me if I’m being forward, but…Diana, I think your mother would be terribly concerned if she could see you.”

That was like an ice bucket to the face, but Diana couldn’t bring herself to yell at Anna, even as the emotion welled up in her chest. “You’re probably right,” she admitted softly, glancing at the vanity that had one picture of her and her mother, silver frame surrounding smiling faces. “But she can’t see me, can she?”

“My lady…”

She forced herself to turn her attention back to Anna, a sad smile on her face. “Don’t worry, Anna, I’ll be alright. I’m far enough ahead in my work that I can relax this weekend. Listen to music, read some…perhaps a chess game or two?”

Anna stared at her, eyes far more knowing than Diana was comfortable with before she smiled as well, the expression just as wan as Diana’s was. “Yes, of course. Now, are you sure you don’t want dinner?”

“I’m sure. And if I change my mind, I know how to run the microwave,” she teased gently, and Anna showed herself out shortly after. After the door closed shut behind her, any hint of mirth fled away from Diana’s face, and she walked over to her bed before throwing herself on it, staring up at the ceiling. After Barbara’s joke and Anna’s comment, she couldn’t stop her thoughts from drifting to her mother, and her brows furrowed as she readied herself for the inevitable pain.

Old pain, dulled by the passing of years, but it was still pain, it still hurt whenever she remembered.

A happy early childhood of warm summer days and cozy winter nights spent wrapped up in her mother’s warm embrace, a soothing voice that she only remembered because of home videos praising her. Those happy memories ended far too soon. The earliest memory she had of knowing that something was wrong, that her mother was ill was standing by her bed, her fingers wrapped around thumb and forefinger as her favorite teddy-bear sat next to her mother in bed to “keep her company.” Diana had been so young, and she hadn’t understood why her mother gently smiled soothingly at her frustrated tears when Diana begged for her to come play with her like she used to. Oh, she had been so very young…

She hadn’t understood what death was. Not truly. Some part of her just _knew_ that her mother would soon be out of bed and playing with her, just like she had before.

But her mother didn’t.

Diana took a deep, quavering breath as she got out of bed, walking over to her vanity and pulling open the top left drawer. She picked up the finely crafted small wooden box from its place of honor in the drawer and placed it on top of her vanity, and she opened it, staring down at the Shiny Chariot Trading Card that lay in the box. It was a premium card, extremely rare and nearly impossible to get, but her mother had somehow managed to get it for Diana.

Diana both loved and hated this card. Loved it because it was the last gift that she ever received from her mother, and hated it because getting it is what finally prompted Diana to understand that her mom wasn’t…wasn’t going to get better, that she was…she was…

Diana grit her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut, careful to sit back in her chair so that none of the tears now streaming down her cheeks had the chance to fall on her most precious and priceless possessions. It was supposed to be her mom’s present for her on her sixth birthday, but her mom…she didn’t…

Diana knew what it meant when she was called into her mom’s room a month before her birthday, finally understood what all the monitors and IV poles and the full time nurse meant. Her mom wasn’t going to get better. But still she had been able to greet Diana with a smile on her too-thin face, cheekbones standing out in sharp relief on her face, and she lifted an almost skeletal hand, beckoning Diana over.

She had gone over, trying to put on a brave face, to not cry, but then her mom had handed her the present wrapped in bright paper and adorned with a brilliant blue bow. “It’s for your birthday,” her mother had said, voice thin and lacking the strength that it once had. “I wanted to watch you open it, dear.”

How Diana had managed to not cry, she’ll never know, but she had managed to put on a brave face despite not even being six years old yet. She had opened the gift, heart lifting as she looked down at the beautiful card, too young to really appreciate how hard it was to get it, not yet old enough to appreciate its rarity. All she knew was that her mom had gotten her a card of her most favoritist person in the whole wide world after her mom.

But then her mom had started coughing, and Anna had appeared as though be magic, quickly escorting Diana out of the room while the nurse sprang into action. That would be Diana’s last fond memory of her mom.

Bernadette Cavendish would die on 12 April 2005, only eighteen days before Diana’s sixth birthday. She would be buried on the 26th, and Diana remembered clutching Anna’s hand as she was led away from the grave, crying heavily as she clutched her mother’s card in her hand.

She would not have a party that year, and the card was the only present she would receive. Her sixth birthday was spent in mourning. What followed was…

…Aunt Daryl adopted her, but not through any sense of love or affection. It was merely her duty as an aunt, she had told Diana, and it took Diana until she was fourteen to put together the true reason behind her aunt’s decision: it was the surefire way to protect her own interests with the family given the conditions of Bernadette Cavendish’s will. It was a business decision, and nothing more. The one thing that Diana did have to say was that her life wasn’t a Cinderella story. Aunt Daryl made sure that she never wanted for anything, and that she had all the material possessions she could ever hope for. Diana had heard the rumors that said that she was spoiled rotten, but she had completely dismissed those rumors. The people that spoke them did not know her and were ignorant. They did not know that all the material possessions that Aunt Daryl had ever gotten her wouldn’t ever replace her mother’s love. They didn’t know that she would give everything and anything to have her mom back.

The tears had stopped. Sighing shakily, she brushed their remains from her cheeks before she closed the lid of the ornate box that her card rest in. She put the box away in its drawer and got ready for bed. It would take her a very long time for her to fall asleep.

The entire weekend passed in a subdued blur, and Diana felt gripped by a numb melancholy. It didn't end with the weekend. Monday morning, she woke up an hour late, and she lay in bed, staring at her clock for a long, long moment. For the first time in her life, she really wanted to stay home, to just stay in bed and let the day pass her by beyond her doors. It was only because Diana was who she was that she forced herself out of bed and went to school. Little miss perfect didn’t play hooky, she held her head high and always went to school unless she was actually sick, something Diana had avoided. She had to be an example of doing the right thing, even when she didn’t want to. But while she was driving in (significantly later than usual), she couldn’t help but ask the question that she often asked herself…what did she do to get to where she’d gotten? What actions of hers actually helped to get her to where she was and wasn’t the result of her family and its wealth? How much of it was the result of her obligations? Were her perfect grades because she was the queen bee of the school or because that’s what she actually wanted? She didn’t know the answer to that question, and that scared her. But she couldn’t very well just _stop_. What would they say if she no longer gave it her all? How would they judge her for her fall from grace? She wasn’t strong enough to find out.

Her heart heavy, she reached her locker and started to get ready for her first class when she caught the flash of crimson eyes and brown hair in the corner of her eyes, and she glanced over to see Akko Kagari walking down the hall, a bright smile on her face. Diana immediately felt a blush touch her cheeks as Akko passed by behind her, and she turned her head to watch her continue on her way, the blush deepening as her heart fluttered in her chest.

But she didn’t dare utter a word, not even a word of greeting to the girl that caught her attention like no one else.

After all, that would be absurd behavior for little miss perfect! How Aunt Daryl alone would react was more than she could bear to contemplate, to say nothing of her peers. Now scowling, she slammed her locker shut, frustration flaring through her as her heart warred with her mind. What she wanted wasn’t what she needed. She wanted to tell Akko how she felt. What she _needed_ was to continuing be who she was. She couldn’t risk falling off her throne, not after all she had been through. Love was something she didn’t even know! She knew being a role model, she knew punctuality…she knew straight hair, straight As, being straight forward, she knew how to be _little miss perfect!_

Suddenly exhausted, she rested her hand on top of her locker, heaving out a sigh as her chaotic, angry thoughts fizzled out. Little miss perfect. “That’s me,” she whispered to herself, and the weight of perfection nearly crushed her spirit. It took her far longer to gather the strength to move than it should have, but a glance at her watch forced her to move.

It was time for class…

xxxXXXxxx

“You know what you need to do?”

Diana glanced up at Hannah and Barbara at Barbara’s question as they sat in the Student Council room after school a month after the day of Barbara’s house party. Well, this should be interesting. Those words were usually followed by some sort of ridiculous statement. “What’s that?” she asked, voice carefully disinterested as she flipped to the next page of the event application she was reviewing for the Chess Club for a trip to a museum a few hours away. There were simple spelling errors in it…

“You should have a party at your house.”

Diana didn’t even pause to give a thought to her answer. “No.”

“Okay, wait, hear us out!” Hannah protested. “Not a _big_ party!”

“Yeah, nothing like what we throw!” Barbara went on. “Just your friends. We feel bad that your house is so _empty_ , you know?”

Diana sighed. “My friends,” she said in a flat voice. “So, what, just you two?” She leaned back in her chair. “Everyone else at school is an acquaintance at best.”

The other two glanced at each other, faces uncomfortable. “Diana…” Hannah started slowly. “Don’t you think that’s a bit…I don’t know…sad? You’re a _senior_ and the most popular girl in school. The two of us are your closest friends, but we can’t be your _only_ friends.”

Actually confirming that fact out loud would have hurt more than Diana cared to admit. “Well, then, who would _you_ suggest?”

Hannah answered first. “Amanda, of course.”

“Oh, and Lotte!” Barbara immediately followed with.

“And if Amanda comes, it only makes sense to invite her friends Constanze and Jasminka.”

“Oh, and if Lotte is there, then we definitely have invite Sucy and Akko!”

By now, they were both clasping hands, looking at Diana with excited grins, their eyes practically sparkling as they undoubtedly thought about the coming party.

…the coming party that Diana hadn’t yet agreed to. “I’m not so sure that that’s such a good idea,” she said slowly.

“Oh, come on, why not?” Hannah demanded. “You won’t be inviting the entire school, it’ll just be eight of us total.”

“Han and I can vouch for Amanda and Lotte, and they can vouch for the others,” Barbara added.

Then Hannah’s expression turned sly. “And if you really want to think about it, it’s almost expected of you to hold at least _one_ party.”

Diana narrowed her eyes at Hannah, whose smile had turned from sly to smug. “I thought you two didn’t like Akko,” she said, her voice flat.

“Oh, not as freshman, of course not. But after we got detention for fighting with her back then and after _you_ insisted that we try to be nicer to her, we changed our ways,” Barbara said loftily before she took a sip from her thermos of tea, the picture of grace.

“Yeah. Once we stopped giving her a hard time, we found out that she actually grows on you. Plus she’s a beast on the hockey field.”

Diana had the distinct feeling that they were playing her like a damn fiddle. But she didn’t have a logical reason to say no. She still had to offer one last bit of resistance, even if it was only token. “Aunt Daryl won’t stand for it,” she warned.

Hannah and Barbara turned to each other, faces thoughtful. “Hey, Barb, didn’t Diana say that Daryl and her daughters were going to be away on holiday next week?”

“Why, now that you mention it, I think she _did_.”

They were definitely playing her. For the first time since she started high school, Diana crossed her arms over her chest and pouted. “I wouldn’t get your hopes up, girls. It’s not like they’re going to say _yes_ …”

As it would just so happen, they _did_ say yes. Rather enthusiastically, in fact, if Hannah and Barbara’s retelling of their invitations to the others were at all true. Diana had some doubts about the veracity of their accounts, however.

But she couldn’t deny one thing: as she was putting things away in her locker a few days before the party, she heard someone gently clear their voice behind her. She turned around only to freeze, eyes widening the moment she caught sight of Akko standing there, giving an apologetic smile, a small blush painted across her cheeks. “Hey, Diana, sorry to bother you when you’re probably super busy, but…are you _actually_ holding a party on Friday?”

It took Diana a moment to remember how to speak, her heart thumping loudly in her chest. Could Akko hear that? Oh, she sure hoped not! “Um, yes, I am.”

Akko visibly sagged with relief. “Oh, thank God. I was worried that it was a prank or something.” She chuckled. “Boy, _that_ would have been embarrassing!” Then she paused, eyes widening. “Wait…I _am_ invited, right?”

Now it was Diana’s turn to chuckle as she held her books in front of her chest. “Yes, Akko. You’re invited.”

Akko beamed a smile at Diana that had the butterflies swarming in her stomach. “Awesome, I can’t wait until the weekend! I’ll see you then, Diana, looking forward to it!” she laughed before she was all but skipping down the hall, and Diana watched her go as her carefully maintained mask cracked a little.

Oh, she was in so much trouble.

Unfortunately for her, time didn’t bother to slow down, and it seemed like she had scarcely so much as blinked before Friday had rolled around. Much to her nervous dismay, the day passed in much the same manner, and before she knew it, the final bell was ringing. Hannah and Barbara practically appeared at her elbows, fairly vibrating with excitement. “We’ll see you at six!” they cried before they were almost running for the door, holding hands.

Diana watched them go before sighing heavily, getting her things together. There were no after school activities for the day, and so she headed immediately for her locker, put her things away, and made her way to her car. Then it was the simple task of driving home…where she found another unpleasant surprise waiting for her: Anna was getting in her car, her purse hanging off her shoulder. Diana parked and got out of her car, peering over the car’s roof with confusion. “Anna, are you going somewhere?”

Anna merely smiled at her. “Oh, you don’t need an old lady like me hanging around and ruining the mood of your party. I trust that you and Hannah and Barbara won’t do anything that I wouldn’t do at your age. Have fun, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Diana could only stare at her with numb shock. “Okay,” she managed to get out, unable to do or say anything else as Anna entered her car, started it, and drove away. So. It was just going to be her and her friends. Fine. That was fine. It was all going to be fine.

Well, there was nothing else to do but get ready. She put her stuff away in her room before heading back downstairs, and she put on some mindless television while she waited. And of _course_ after how quickly time flew by before, now it seemed to drag. She found her thoughts circling back around to the upcoming party. Perhaps…perhaps she was overthinking things. The girls were right, it was going to be a small group, and she didn’t have any reason to distrust any of them. If there was any one time that she could relax, it was now. So maybe it wasn’t a bad thing that Akko was going to be there.

That conclusion had a small smile coming to her face, just in time for the doorbell to ring. Smile still on her face, she made her way to the door before opening it. Unsurprisingly, Hannah and Barbara were first and foremost, Akko was just behind them in her Field Hockey letterman jacket, a sheepish smile on her face, Sucy was off to the side, a disinterested frown on her face, and Lotte was practically jumping up from the back of the group, waving at Diana.

Diana opened the door wide, gesturing into her house with a wide-swept arm. Barbara practically pushed Hannah into the house, both of them flashing smirks at her as they announced that they knew where things were. Akko followed behind them, her sheepish smile turning almost apologetic as she pardoned herself for intruding, but didn’t have time to say much anything else as Sucy followed behind her, her usual scowl on her face, and Lotte followed up behind her, beaming her kind, warm smile at Diana as she thanked her for inviting them.

At first, Diana was worried that it was going to be awkward, that she was going to be the same wallflower that she always was. But to her surprise, Hannah and Barbara did everything they could to bring her into the life of the party, and she wasn’t sure if it was that or her earlier decision to actually relax a little or the fact that they were in her own home, but she found herself being drawn into their antics. Before long, she found herself side-by-side with Hannah and Barbara, all three of them crying they were laughing so hard at some ridiculous story that Akko was telling. If you had asked her when the last time that she had laughed this hard…Diana honestly wouldn’t have been able to say. Perhaps she had _never_ laughed this hard before.

The antics continued. They had to wait a while before Amanda and Jasminka and Constanze were going to arrive with the food, and so they found other ways to occupy their time. Between joking and talking and watching Sucy chug a bottle of absinthe while Akko cheered her on and Lotte begged her to stop, Diana found herself drinking for the first time at a party…but did it really count as a party when it was at her own house and it was her friends and not random people from school? And besides, they were almost high school graduates and what they were drinking was much tamer compared to what Hannah or Barbara served at parties, so it was fine, right?

All she knew was that the beer was filling her belly with warmth and was driving those pesky thoughts about what _little miss perfect_ should be doing right now, and she felt more and more relaxed. By the time that the other three arrived with Amanda carrying takeout, a box of baking goods in Jasminka’s arms, and Constanze bearing video games, she felt like one of them, and she welcomed them warmly, drawing surprised looks from the trio of troublemakers.

With everyone now present, things got even livelier, and her normally cold and quiet house was filled with warmth and noise, and she briefly found herself watching from the sides. Only this time she wasn’t so bothered by it, because she was watching Akko and Amanda chatting, a can of beer in Akko’s hand and Hannah hanging off of Amanda’s arm. She found herself getting drawn in by Akko’s _presence_ , a blush dusting her cheeks, one that she wasn’t sure if it was caused by the alcohol buzzing through her veins or because of Akko or _both_.

“Like what you see?” came the coy voice at her side, and she turned to see Barbara smirking knowingly at her.

She scoffed. “What?” she asked. “It’s totally platonic!” Her words were slightly slurred, and the look that Barbara shot her was clearly unconvinced.

“Sure, Diana, whatever you want to tell yourself,” Barbara drawled before there was a hoot and holler from the others, and the two of them looked over to see Akko shrugging off her letterman jacket before she flexed her arms, biceps swelling in a way that had Diana’s mind filling with sweet, glorious static as she blushed and looked away and had Barbara bursting out into laughter at her side. “Oh, yeah, it’s _totally_ platonic!”

Diana didn’t have anything say in response to that, but then, she didn’t really care that she didn’t. Let Barbara have her thoughts or suspicions tonight. Tonight was the exception. Tonight, she could be free. And so, she let herself get lost. Akko’s smirks were so enticing, and Diana found that hours swept by like seconds as they ate and drank and talked and played board and video games and just had _fun_.

Then…what happened was iconic.

It seemed like everyone else had paired off to play games or talk, and Diana found herself suddenly alone with Akko, but she found she didn’t care, the hours of partying and drinking keeping any nerves that she might have felt at bay. But that didn’t mean that she wasn’t aware of Akko, aware of how she sipped from her beer as those glittering crimson eyes peered at her from underneath heavy lids and long lashes, and she bit her lip as her blush deepened.

Then Akko’s face suddenly brightened and she lowered her beer, turning towards Diana, a big smile on her face. “Hey, hey, hey,” she said. “Did you know that my pet snake is exactly 3.14 feet long?” she asked, pausing for only a second before continuing. “He’s a _pi_ -thon!”

It took Diana a moment longer to get the joke, and honestly, it was more Akko’s earnest delivery of it that had her laughing as hard as she did, to the point where she snorted and then almost choked as those close enough to hear her laughter looked over curiously.

Flustered, she all but fled for her room, Akko close behind, apologizing for making her laugh so hard she snorted but also don’t worry because it was really cute! Diana didn’t stop until they were at her door, and she suddenly realized that the two of them were alone, the sounds of the party continuing downstairs floating up to them. “So, um…this is your bedroom, I’m guessing?” Akko asked with a crooked smile as she gestured at the closed door.

Diana could tell Akko yes, and tell her to go back downstairs. Hell, they _both_ could go downstairs, if only to avoid the jeers and teases from the others, especially Amanda and Hannah. But…she didn’t want to. And so she nodded, opening the door and heading inside. “Yeah, it is. You can come in if you want.”

Akko hesitated at the door before she followed, looking around the room curiously before she chuckled. “Wow, I think this room is like…three times as big as my bedroom.”

Diana sighed. “It’s not like I chose to live here, you know,” she started, voice cross, only to stop as a warm, gentle hand dropped on her shoulder.

“It’s not a bad thing, Diana,” Akko reassured her, her earnest crimson eyes peering at Diana before they scanned the room again. “In fact, I think it suits you. It’s hard to imagine you in anything less than this, y’know?” She must have noticed Diana’s lingering discomfort, for her eyes flicked to Diana’s hair. “Have you ever had someone braid your hair at a party?” she asked.

Diana blinked. “What? No, no I haven’t.”

Akko’s eyes widened. “Whaaaaaaat?” she gasped before she was suddenly leading Diana towards her own bed. “Okay, that’s like…a party staple!”

Diana quirked her brow even as she blushed as they reached the bed and they sat down on it, Akko sitting behind Diana. “I don’t know what kind of parties you’ve been to, but I haven’t noticed anything of the sort at Hannah or Barbara’s parties.”

Fingers began to gently card through her hair as Akko chuckled behind her. “Okay, so maybe, like…sleepovers. But _still_ , that doesn’t excuse that you’ve never experienced so key an experience to growing up!”

“Oh, so you’re hoping that this becomes a sleepover?” Diana managed to ask, tone absent as her eyes drifted shut at how Akko’s fingers felt as they began to separate her long, thick hair into strands.

“Well, I mean, my mom would _kill_ me if I showed up after a party and smelled like beer,” she said nonchalantly. “Here, I can do this so that you can’t tell that your hair is braided unless they move your hair aside. This can be our little secret, if you want.” A pause. “You’ve got _amazing_ hair, by the way! It’s so thick and fluffy. Mine’s straight and boring.”

“It’s not boring,” Diana found herself saying. “But, uh, what were your plans if you weren’t staying here?”

“Why, are you kicking me out, Miss Cavendish?” Akko asked, her tone light and teasing, and Diana didn’t have to turn around to see that she was smiling.

“No, we have enough couches and pull out sofas and guest rooms for everyone to stay. Just curious, is all.”

“Was gonna stay at Sucy’s if we couldn’t stay here. Her folks don’t care what we’ve been up to, so long as we don’t do anything like… _really_ illegal.”

Diana hummed softly in response to that, and they both fell into silence as Akko continued to plait her hair. It was a comfortable silence, one that Diana was suddenly loathe to break even as the butterflies began to flutter in her stomach, adding to the beer induced haze that had settled over her. She didn’t want this moment to end. It was just her and Akko, together and alone since the very first time since Akko had first caught Diana’s eye, four years ago.

A triumphant laugh, and Akko patted Diana’s upper back. “There! All done.”

Diana turned around, meeting Akko’s gaze, and it really hit her that she and Akko were _alone_ in her _bedroom_ …at the same time that it struck Akko, if the way that she blushed and the smile slid away from her face were any indication. But it wasn’t a worried or uneasy expression on her face.

Diana’s hand lifted, almost as though on its own accord, and she cupped Akko’s cheek as she smiled down at Akko, whose beautiful crimson eyes flicking down to Diana’s lip, and when they came back up to meet Diana’s gaze, they were welcoming.

Next thing she knew, Diana lost control. She leaned down, Akko lifting her face as Diana finally kissed her, the warmth exploding from their lips pressing together dwarfing anything that the beer had ever made her feel. For a moment, Diana allowed herself to become lost in the kiss she had been yearning for so very long…until her eyes cracked open as she sighed into the kiss, and she caught the reflection of them kissing in the dark windows.

The reality of just what she was doing came crashing down on her, and she yanked away from Akko like her lips had scalded her, Akko flinching from the sudden move. Diana clambered up out of the bed, breathing heavily as she stared down at sweet, beautiful, _wonderful_ Akko who didn’t deserve this, didn’t deserve _her_ before her eyes returned to the window where her reflection might as well been glaring at her, _little miss perfect_ judging Diana for her moment of weakness.

A cold sweat broke out across Diana’s body, and her chest heaved as she tried to catch her breath. If she had a shoulder angel and devil, they would be shouting at her that no, she couldn’t risk falling off her throne, that love was something she didn’t even know! She stumbled towards the window, bracing herself on the sill even as her _perfect_ reflection all but screamed at her, repeating the message that she loathed and hated even as she knew it was true, that she _couldn’t risk falling of her throne!_

Emotions swirling through her like a maelstrom, Diana placed her hands and forehead on the cold window panes, only just barely keeping the scream that was squeezing her lungs, choking her throat, and beating at the back of her teeth as it sought escape, and in her moment of weakness, it almost felt like Akko was on the other side of the window, where Diana could see her, but where she couldn’t touch, where she couldn’t feel her lips against her own, where she couldn’t braid Diana’s hair, where they couldn’t hold hands or hug or…the storm within reached a peak as the one thing that Diana wanted more than anything else echoed mockingly through her mind, as out of reach as that terrible day eighteen days before Diana’s sixth birthday:

Love.

Then the storm abated, and she felt herself deflate, suddenly exhausted, and the words came unprompted to her lips, slipping out into the air with a tortured whisper: “You don’t even know,” she told herself…only to stiffen as she heard Akko come up behind her.

“Diana…are you okay?” came the soft, worried voice.

Diana made herself turn around, lifting soothing hands even as she forced a smile on her lips, and she wasn’t quite sure what she said, she just wished that she could rewind to before her moment of weakness, yearned to induce amnesia for the both of them so that they’d forget what just happened…or at least let her forget the worried look on Akko’s face as she stared at Diana, obviously not buying the lies that were spilling from her lips. Diana forced herself to smile wider, trying to reassure Akko so that worried frown would go away, even as she feared to turn around and see the judgmental stare of _little miss perfect_ reflected back at her.

But then she couldn’t bear the pain in Akko’s eyes any longer, and so she turned to face _her_ , that bitch whose eyes were telling her to deny the truth, that that was easier. _You’re just confused_ , the reflection told Diana, _believe me_.

But then Akko’s reflection joined her in the window, worry morphing into determination before she peered out the window with narrowed, focused eyes. “Diana,” she said with a soft, reassuring smile as she gestured out the window, “there’s nothing there.”

Diana met that smile with a weary one of her own. Maybe Akko was the one who she should believe. And then Akko purposefully turned her back to the window, lifting her arm with a gallant smile. That took Diana by surprise, warmth flooding through her for a moment before she allowed herself to link her arm through Akko’s, deciding that it was never worth it.

It was never worth it to torture herself.

It was never worth it to deny herself what would make her happy.

Then Akko’s face lit up with a beaming smile brighter than the others that had been on her face, and Diana knew that everything was going to be okay. “Come on, the others are waiting!” Akko said, and Diana nodded, the two of them walking together out of the room, Akko wrapped around Diana’s arm, her head resting on Diana’s shoulder, warmth blossoming from Diana’s heart throughout her entire body. Yeah, everything was going to be alright.

 _It’s never worth it…when you’re little miss perfect_ , Diana thought to herself, before she lift her head high, Akko at her side.

_Well, then, maybe it’s time to stop being Little Miss Perfect!_


End file.
